Bert Lawrence
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Albert Benjamin Rutter "Bert" Lawrence MC (March 31, 1923 – March 28, 2007) was a politician in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
from 1963 to 1974 who represented the ridings of Russell and
Carleton East Carleton East was an electoral Riding (division), riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1967 election and was abolished in 1999 into Carleton—Gloucester and Ottawa—Vanier (provincial electoral district), Ottawa—Vanier. From 1986 ...
. He served as a cabinet minister in the governments of
John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...
and
Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...
.


Background

Lawrence was born in
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, and grew up in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. He was educated at Ashbury College and at
Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...
in
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
. He enlisted in the army with the rank of Lieutenant in the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment (VIII Recce). He landed in Normandy in the first week of July 1944. He was decorated with the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...
by
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
for engineering a bridge in an advance action at the Risle River near Brionne, France. He was injured twice including during V2 rocket attack near Antwerp in October 1944. Lawrence reflected on his narrow escapes from death. He wrote in his journal, "Keeping alive consists of 90 per cent luck and 10 per cent soldiering." He returned to action in February 1945 and participated to the end of the fighting. He was promoted to captain at the end of the war. When he returned home he acquired a law degree at
Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...
. He graduated in 1948 and went to work for an Ottawa firm called Honeywell, Baker, Gibson, and Wotherspoon. He married Lois Davidson in October 1949 and they raised four children. He died in
Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
in 2007.


Politics

In the 1950s he was elected to
Gloucester, Ontario Gloucester ( ) is a former municipality and now geographic area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located east of Ottawa's inner core, it was an independent city until amalgamated with the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton in 2001 to become ...
town council for two terms. In the 1956 Federal Conservative leadership convention he organized the campaign for
Davie Fulton Edmund Davie Fulton, (March 10, 1916 – May 22, 2000) was a Canadian Rhodes Scholar, politician and judge. He was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of politician/lawyer Frederick John Fulton and Winnifred M. Davie, daughter of ...
. While there was little chance of winning, his wife Lois said that he enjoyed immensely. She said, "They were so young, it was like they were lambs to slaughter. It was absolutely all-absorbing for what seemed like a month. There was huge hoopla and excitement." In the 1963 provincial election, Lawrence ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Russell. He narrowly defeated
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidate Fred Barrett by only 413 votes. In
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
he ran in the redistributed riding of
Carleton East Carleton East was an electoral Riding (division), riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1967 election and was abolished in 1999 into Carleton—Gloucester and Ottawa—Vanier (provincial electoral district), Ottawa—Vanier. From 1986 ...
. He defeated Liberal Eugene Bellemare by a comfortable margin of 4,221 votes. He was re-elected in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
. In 1969, Ontario Premier
John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...
brought Lawrence into the
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
as
minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
. In February 1970, he was promoted to Minister of Financial and Commercial Affairs. In March 1971 he was shuffled to
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...
. During his time as Minister, he began to promote the idea of no-fault insurance, the first time it was discussed in the province. Lawrence felt that the current system was unfair to consumers as judgments were applied unevenly. While he felt this would benefit consumers he did not push hard on the issue due to his mindfulness of Ontario Insurance companies. He ran in the 1971
leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...
to succeed Robarts, and came in fifth place. The new premier,
Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...
, appointed him as
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...
. In February 1972, he was assigned to the super-ministry post of Provincial Secretary for Resource Development. In March 1972, he flew to Cuba on a government jet to talk about trade. He defended the trip because he met with Cuban government officials and said that he had opened a number of doors. He was roundly criticized in the media and his influence was diminished as a result. In 1974 he said, "At that time, the government, the media and the public were much more resentful of Cuba's political position than they are today, and they were less appreciative of the trade opportunities than they are today." Lawrence was dropped from cabinet altogether in February 1974. He decided to retire from the legislature later on in September. He returned to his law practice. He attempted a move to federal politics by running as the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...
candidate for
Ottawa—Carleton Ottawa–Carleton was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1988. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Carleton, Ottawa East and Russell ridings. It initial ...
in the 1980 federal election but was defeated by
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
Jean-Luc Pépin Jean-Luc Pepin, (November 1, 1924 – September 5, 1995) was a Canadian academic, politician and Cabinet minister. Political biography Pepin was a political science professor at the University of Ottawa when he was first elected to the House o ...
.


Cabinet positions


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Bert 1923 births 2007 deaths Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army officers Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Politicians from Calgary Canadian military personnel from Alberta Royal Military College of Canada alumni Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1980 Canadian federal election 14th Canadian Hussars 14th Canadian Hussars officers